The big news coming out of the NC State coach's time with the media was the status of starting running back Mustafa Greene, who was suspended for the game.

O'Brien had said earlier in the week that he wouldn't go the whole season with three running backs - James Washington and Tony Creecy being the other two - in the rotation, and that the players would eventually separate themselves.

"He forfeited his right to stand up and take the job, so we'll go with the other two guys," O'Brien said. "I don't have any comment on his status going forward. He's still on the team."

The coach opened his media availability by saying that he was satisfied with his team's victory. He specifically said he liked how his team played for three quarters, but was not a big fan of their play in the final frame.

"I wasn't real excited about the way we played the fourth quarter, but we tried to get some guys in the game that had not been in to get them some playing time," he said. "We gave up a score and a big play, stuff we can't do. It's a victory and we'll move on, get ready to play next week against Citadel.

"As I told them in the locker room, to have as much experience as we do, we're still an immature team and do some dumb things when we should be able to get control of the game. Give South Alabama credit, they kept playing and kept playing hard."

O'Brien also noted how nice it was to play at home and said that he was told that NC State had the highest number of students request tickets in the history of the school.

"I think there was a lot of enthusiasm," he said. "When we left here at 1:00 after our walk-through, I've never seen traffic like there was with people waiting to get in the parking lot. It was great that we got this enthusiasm built up, it was good to come and it was good to win a football game."

Fifth-year senior offensive guard saw the offensive line make strides in today's game from the previous two, and mentioned that starting the same offensive line twice in a row played a big role in that.

"We'll have to watch the film obviously, but I feel like Tyson [Chandler] played a better game than he did last game and the offensive line gelled, but there were a couple of sacks and miscues that we can always be better on," he said. "On film, you can always see something you can focus on and get better on for next week.

"You've got guys that you play next to, you get used to their tendencies and you got non-verbal signals that you give each other. Tyson's got to get used to me and I've got to get used to Tyson. Practicing two weeks with him, we got used to each other and we got better than we were the week before."

NC State's passing game piled up a ton of yards in week one against Tennessee, but committed quite a few turnovers. Last week against UConn, the group never seemed to get clicking. That wasn't the case this week, and the Pack's fifth-year signal caller said it was because of the work they put in during practice.

"I think this week we put a heavy emphasis on how we practice," he said. "I think our focus was good this week and it kind of showed out there in the first half. I think that's the same thing we're going to have to do every week - focus in practice, execute real well out there, come out in a game and do the same thing."

"I said it through the Tennessee and UConn game, the mistakes we made then, we don't want to make the same mistake twice - learn from the mistakes and not let it happen again. There was a lot of evidence out there today that there weren't as many mistakes. I think this showed what our offense can do when all 11 guys execute properly."

There was what many would consider a surprising name atop the defensive statistics at the end of the game. True sophomore Brandon Pittman finished with eight tackles - all solo stops - including two for loss.

The youngster noted that the game has started to slow down for him and said he is no longer running around like a chicken with his head cut off.

"I just went out there and tried to have some fun," he said. "Coach told me I had to step up, so I came out there and made sure I knew what I was doing and played fast. That is the motto of the defense - just play fast and have fun.

"The defense is starting to mold together as one and we're starting to get our timing for our blitzes and everything. We still have some kinks to get fixed up, but we're ready for the ACC. We have one more [nonconference] game, but we're ready for it."

Home sweet home

Several players spoke about how nice it was to play in Raleigh for the home crowd.

"It was good to come home and play our first home game," linebacker Rickey Dowdy said. "Everybody was glad to see us after playing away two weeks in a row. The atmosphere was great, the fans were great. WE just had to come out there and play."

"It is a lot better being back home - knowing you've got fans there to support you and people who are going to be behind you whether you're winning or losing," wide out Tobais Palmer said. "It's great to be back home."